Philadelphia Flyers at Calgary Flames Free Preview

In their final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Calgary Flames clash at the Scotiabank Saddledome in a cross-continent matchup. The action gets started at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, December 4, and you’ll be able to watch the game live on Sportsnet West.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Calgary Flames Odds

Philadelphia (+140) is currently the underdog to Calgary (-160), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-125 to bet the over, +105 for the under).
The Flames are 14-12 straight up (SU) and have lost 0.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage is right in line with what the team produced during last year’s regular season (45-37). Through 26 regular season outings, 13 of the teams games have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under and just one has pushed. The teams 7-7 SU at home this season.
Calgary’s converted on 20.9 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 29th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.6 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Calgary has been penalized 4.0 times per game overall this season, and 2.8 per game over its last five games home outings. The teams had to kill penalties for just 6.0 minutes per game over its last five outings, in total.
Boasting a .920 save percentage and 29.6 saves per game, Mike Smith (13-10-1) has been the primary option in goal for the Flames this season. If head coach Glen Gulutzan decides to rest him, however, the Flames may turn to Eddie Lack (1-3-3 record, .813 save percentage, 5.29 goals against average).
The Flames will continue to look for leadership from Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Gaudreau (36 points) is up to 12 goals and 24 assists and has recorded two or more points on 11 different occasions this year. Monahan has 14 goals and 12 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 16 contests.
Philadelphia is 8-18 straight up (SU) and has lost 13.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. A total of 13 of its matches have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under and just one has pushed. As an away team, Philadelphia is 4-8 SU so far.
Philadelphia has converted on 17.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 28th overall and it’s successfully killed off 76.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Philadelphia’s players have been penalized 4.2 times per game in total this season, 4.6 per game over their last five games total, and 4.2 per game over their last five road outings. The teams been forced to kill penalties 10.6 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Brian Elliott (27.4 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Philadelphia. Elliott has six wins, 13 losses, and six OT losses to his credit, while registering a .904 save percentage and 2.97 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Flyers, the offense will run through Jakub Voracek (seven goals, 23 assists) and Claude Giroux (11 goals, 17 assists).

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Calgary Flames Betting Picks

Predictions: SU Winner – Flames, O/U – Under

Betting Notes

The under has hit in three of Calgary’s last five games.

The Flyers are 1-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 4-7 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.

Calgary is 2-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Philadelphia is 0-2 in shootouts.

Calgary has created 13.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 8.8 takeaways per game (ranked 7th).

Philadelphia has scored just 2.0 goals per game (while giving up 3.7) over its last 10 games (0-10 SU over that span).

Philadelphia has created 5.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, right in line with its season average of 5.4 takeaways per game (ranked 29th in the NHL).

Calgary could hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The teams 7-3 in games decided by one goal, while Philadelphia is only 2-11 in such games.